Letter to the Editor

I am writing this letter to anyone who is willing to listen and acknowledge some of the frustrations that have plagued my current workplace. Our voice is no longer heard and we have been subjectively looked down upon by our higher-ups. I write this letter with the intent of serving as the “voice” of the voiceless, as I feel that unless I take this stand, we will continue to work in such a horrendous and unhealthy environment. I wish to maintain my name anonymous in fear of losing my job, a job that I am currently still in because I am unfortunately in financial need of it.

I have been working here for years now and I can assuredly state that had things maintained the way they were before, there would be no need for this letter. The workplace was once a friendly environment, one in which the managers and subordinates shared a very close yet professional bond.

They were willing to work with us as opposed to working above us. If one had a question, one would not have to hesitate to bring it up to management in exchange for assurance. Everyone knew their tasks the moment they clocked in, which made it easier for the managers to go about their own work. Employees all shared the willingness and intent to maximize their potential for the better service of their clients. However, those times have become nothing but a distant memory; one that I had to dig deep in simply to write this letter.

Since new management took over several months ago, life at the workplace has been horrible to say the least. Horrendous, catastrophic, appalling, calamitous, dreadful and disastrous are all adjectives I would use to describe this setting. I shall stop myself now before I bombard this letter with an infinite amount of adjectives that I could use to describe this horrid place.

I do not wish to blame the entire staff, for they are not all responsible for the events that have transpired as of late. Some of the managers prior to the management change still remain and working with them is still a pleasure.

However, there are a couple [new staffers] that have just torn this place apart from the inside. They are so autocratic and abuse their power as managers. One may be constantly harassing you telling you what to do and when to do it while the other just lets it happen. It is clearly understood that your responsibility as a manager is to dictate certain responsibilities. However, these new managers have taken that to a whole new extreme.

Once I clock in, I used to be told of my tasks; simple instructions are all I needed. Once I became aware of my duty, no questions were needed. I simply did what I was asked and the managers knew that. They found comfort in knowing that I knew what my job was and how to do it and I found comfort in them establishing that trust onto me.

However, now we are constantly being harassed. The two managers will stay in their office for a good 30 minutes and just come out demanding this and demanding that. I may be cleaning my job at a certain moment and they may come out complaining about things that I would have gotten to the moment I finished what I was initially doing. They have no patience and then when I leave my current task to do what they want, they complain as to why I left the other task. There is no way to satisfy these individuals and I emphasize: NO WAY. They are the modern equivalent to bullies.

They know they are above you and can make you do anything they wish. They constantly emphasize how easily replaceable you are and how you should do as you are told before you’re placed on the chopping block. Student workers have been the most exploited in this sense. Apparently, because we are students, we can be let go at their disposal. That is unfair and unjust. You may have worked your tail off to make sure everything is replenished, cleaned and served only to have these managers complain as to why there is nothing to do. One of them stated, “Why don’t you make yourself useful? Is this your first day working? Because it looks that way.” Their sarcasm is demeaning and people have begun to lose that willingness to work.

No longer exists that enthusiasm to work your best for the bosses that respect you as much as you respect them. In fact, student workers who have been unfairly targeted have attempted to call out on the days that these specific managers are in charge. Who would want to come to work regularly to simply be talked down upon and treated as if you are unable or meaningless? I will not lie because I too have done so as well.

It is horrible that student workers have been trying to structure their schedule in a fashion that would not place them to work under these tyrants. Goodbye to the days when I used to wake up excited about coming to work. I now say hello to days when I wish they never existed. There is no system of appraisal here. Rarely will you hear a “good job” or receive a pat on the back for your hard efforts.

All your work goes unnoticed nowadays. They don’t care for what you do but will complain over the littlest things that are out of your control. Every day they come with a book of checklists filled with new things to do. Some of these things are just out of this world and prove that they are trying to exploit us at every chance they can get.

I chose to write this letter to get my message across, a plead to anyone who may listen, that this is not right. That such negativity that currently clouds our setting is unacceptable. Our morale is low and some have preferred to stop working than to continue being mistreated and disrespected.

I have chosen not to bring this matter to the attention to the next in rank because they will not do anything. They are also part of the problem for allowing this to happen. We can voice our complaints all we want but they will continue to mute us should it continue to favor them. This letter is important to us and it should be to you because we the workers take pride and honor in serving you your food on a daily basis. This is our attempt to unmute ourselves from this dictatorship of which has become our job.